Appropriation Bill, 1948 HEARINGS BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE EIGHTIETH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION ON H. R. 2436 A BILL MAKING APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE TREASURY SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS CLYDE M. REED, Kansas GUY CORDON, Oregon, Chairman STYLES BRIDGES, New Hampshire LEVERETT SALTONSTALL, Massachusetts WILLIAM F. KNOWLAND, California MILLARD E. TYDINGS, Maryland THEODORE FRANCIS GREEN, Rhode Island EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS FROM COMMITTEE ON CIVIL SERVICE ON POST OFFICE TREASURY AND POST OFFICE APPROPRIATION BILL, 1948 THURSDAY, MARCH 27, 1947 UNITED STATES SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS, Washington, D', C. The committee met at 10 a. m., pursuant to notice, in the hearing room of the Committee on Appropriations, Capitol Building, Hon. Guy Cordon (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Present: Senator Cordon (presiding), Reed, Bridges, Saltonstall, Knowland, McKellar, Hayden, and Green. Also present: Hon. Gordon Canfield, chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee for Treasury and Post Office Departments, House of Representatives. Senator CORDON. The committee will come to order. We have before us this morning for hearing H. R. 2436, the 1948 appropriation bill for the Department of the Treasury and the Post Office Department. The Treasury Department will be heard first. TREASURY DEPARTMENT LETTER FROM TREASURY DEPARTMENT REQUESTING CERTAIN AMENDMENTS In that connection, I have a letter from Hon. John W. Snyder, Secretary of the. Treasury, addressed to the committee, commenting upon the appropriation bill and suggesting certain amendments therein, and that letter will go into the record at this time. (The letter is as follows:) Hon. GUY CORDON, Chairman, Treasury Subcommittee on Appropriations, United States Senate, Washington, D. C. MARCH 14, 1947. MY DEAR MR: CHAIRMAN: Reference is made to your letter of March 7, 1947, relative to the Treasury Department appropriation bill for the fiscal year 1948 (H. R. 2436), in which you request information as to any changes in the bill which the Department deems absolutely necessary. The Treasury appropriation estimates for the fiscal year 1948 were carefully scrutinized by the budget officer of the Department and subsequently subjected to careful study and analysis by the Bureau of the Budget. I personally went over the budget estimates which were presented to the House Committee on Appropriations and they were in my judgment the minimum amounts which would be required to perform efficiently the essential functions of this Department during the fiscal year 1948. The House Committee on Appropriations, however, made substantial reductions in practically all of the amounts requested for annual operating expenses. These reductions in the aggregate amounted to $79,516,750. In addition, the estimates relating to annual indefinite appropriations were changed to definite 1 |